Chapter 361 (2/2)

She s for me to do the same “Aether is not mana in the same ater is not a stallion One uided Trusted A bond formed But aether is not a stallion, either It should not be broken Further, your aether is not h the very careful application of spellforuide aether to assistit, because of your core and your ability to easily absorb and refine aether within your own body, your relationshi+p to aether is more akin to a parent and child”

I felt inward toward ht, pure aether Lady Myre’s first lesson foraether was to reinforce the idea that it had a kind of “consciousness,” and that it could only be coaxed, never controlled When I forged , I assumed my core allowed on race of the asuras siht much further than that

But…

“So you’re saying that the aether I absorb and purify withininfluence over it because it’s…what? Bonded toon h my flesh and into my core Then her face fell into a little frown, almost a pout “While your spatium technique earlier was impressive, I still find myself underwheled to acco the immense potential of your body and core combined You should be able to forht—no, the aether should react to your intention before you even fully articulate it into a conscious thought”

I scratched the back ofby her rebuke “I think I’hed and shook her head as a single blade appeared in her hands “No But with more practice and less conversation, you will” Her face as eed, her blade aimed at my core

After what felt like days, our sparring continued unabated I was forcefully re opposite Kordri as the djinn and I fought each other to a standstill, our battles raging on for hours at a tiive an inch to the other The djinn could sue their forms with an instant and unpredictable precision, but I was the better swordsman

And for the first tiain

It had taken tie to sink in, but it wasn’t the first tiht I kneell Slowly, over the course of hours or days, I had practiced letting my intention shape the aether blade

In practice, the concept was similar to how Three Steps had trained me to perceive the aetheric pathways of God Step without first having to “see” the to mold water with my bare hands, it had becothe blade still required nearly allin the feel of the aetheric weapon in er and wider than Dawn’s Ballad had been, slightly wider at the base and tapering into a razor-sharp point, and glowed a bright auard protected my hand—an addition I’d ainst my knuckles and disruptedthe sword revitalizedI hadn’t even realized I wasthe art of swordsmanshi+p had been pivotal to my sense of self, and when Dawn’s Ballad was shattered, it was like losing a limb

Whenever my aether blade crossed with one of the djinn’s many weapons, a deep, resonant hum filled the air, and the space around the a visible distortion It gave the i the very fabric of the world around us, and I had to wonder if it wasin an entirelywith the use of the blade—or if thisthe aether weapons’ genuine physical i battle cry The weapon in her hand shi+fted to a glaive, while twin blades spun athorizontally with the ground so that the flying swords cut only air above and below laive, the djinn cut upward in a short, sharp motion meant to catch round to react

I God Stepped behind her, but couldn’t maintain concentration on the summoned aetheric blade in that between-space The ti the djinn time to spin around to find me and then leap over my slash ai into an overhead chop, forcing her to bring up her oeapon—a sword again—to defend

I leaned into the contact and shoved hard, sendingbackwards as I held my sword out to ward off a surprise attack frogering God Step, I flashed to her side, then iain to her opposite side and for it at her chest, but she was alreadyaround to defend froles

I repeated this several ti from a different direction, but she matched ainst the other

Then suddenly her weapons vanished and she blinked—not her eyes, but her entire body, like she’d turned momentarily invisible I let my oord fade away

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, but I couldn’t help but think that her forht as it had been “I’ short We should”—the white blankness vanished, and ere once again standing in the dilapidated stone ruins—“return to your coone, and the voice was now e from the crystal at the center of the room “You have perforis stood froainst one of the cru me an annoyed scowl I noticed I was back in my armor, or more likely that I had never actually dis had all taken place in my mind

“You took your sweet tier than last tie of ti with the djinn “How long has it been?”

“Ten is’s side with her knee “You were just kind of standing there, staring blankly…It was a bit creepy, really”

The crystal pulsed as it interjected, saying, “It is unfortunate that I did not have the energy to continue, butHowever, I believe you haveyour aether blade technique on your own”

“And the trial?” I asked Aside froiven me any other test

“A test of character and will,” the crystal answered, brightening “You have passed, per ement, and will have your reward”

My direarm, and I hurried to withdraw a plain black cube that had just appeared within Like the previous one, it felt much heavier than it should have A part ofinto the keystone to see what it held, but I resisted the urge

Caera leaned over, peering at the relic I handed it to her to exa that she would care for it, and turned my attention back to the crystal

“Can you tell ht this relic contains?” I asked hopefully

The crystal di unevenly “I a you anything at all, I could inadvertently li of the Godrune”

I considered for a moment, then asked, “And where do these Godrunes coives them to us? Your compatriot wasn’t able to answer”

“That information isn’t stored within this remnant”

I couldn’t exactly be disappointed, since I’d expected this Besides, I had too s to worry about The mystery of Godrunes would have to be resolved some other day

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think to ask earlier…What is your na dimly In a raw, emotional tone, it said, “That information isn’t stored within this re else you’d like to tell me before we leave?” There were a hundred questions I would have liked for the djinn remnant to answer, but if ere short on tis she couldn’t tell ht of the crystal flickered silently for a minute “Do not try to force the world into a shape to suit your needs, but you should also not accept the limitations of this world as it is Your path is yours alone, and only you enuinely hope my creation aids you on this path It will draw aether to you,it easier for you to then absorb, and will protect you fro enough opponent, with potent control over mana or aether, will still be able to harm you Do not let them”

I nodded to the crystal “Thank you”

The ruin shi+fted around us, only partially beco the library I had seen out of the corner of eway before It was like looking at two transparent i both the library and the ruined room at the same time

One wall of the library was dominated by a shadowy portal, the frame of which was an arch of shelves full of the crystals The library was busy with tiny movements as little pictures played across the many facets of the hundreds of crystals, but I found them impossible to focus on, and when I reached for one, h as if it wasn’t really there

Facing the portal, I asked, “Will we even be able to use this?” But there was no answer froe,” Caera said, walking directly through a wide table She h the back of a chair “An illusion?”

“I think we’re the illusion,” Regis said, sniffing around “There’s no s like ozone…like there is nothing here at all Or like we’re not really here”

I withdrew the Compass “The djinn bound and shaped reality with aether here, but it’s beginning to collapse This place is like three different rooms stacked on top of and within each other…but the boundaries between the up the half-sphere relic, I iht settled over the portal, and the frah the portal was my room at the academy, but my attention was drawn to the crystals, which were also solid The i across their many surfaces showed djinn—their race obvious by the variation of pinks and purples in their skin tone, and the spellfor any number of mundane activities

Many of the facets showed only djinn faces, speaking Most looked tired, and deeply sad

Tentatively, I reached out to lift a crystal off the shelf At my touch, a dozen overlapped voices—or rather, the sas at the same time—emitted from the crystal, directly into my mind Instinctively, I touched the crystal with aether, and the voices cut off and the ies faded away

Curiosity won out over caution—and a suilt—and I stored the crystal away in is had watched this silently Despite her stoicisis, on the other hand, was unreadable, his emotions hidden from our link even as he disappeared inside me without a word

With much to think about and even more to be done, I left my partner alone as I recalled the relic armor The black ethereal suit of scales evaporated, but I could feel it still, waiting fora nod and a weary so see what happened at the bestowment ceremony”